Born and raised in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, Kelly Kelly, an avid outdoorswoman, found her niche in the meetings and events industry while employed with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) and continues to excel along her career path, now at the Archery Trade Association (ATA), in New Ulm, Minnesota.

When Kelly isn’t planning, managing, or coordinating one of the multiple meetings or tradeshows she strategically oversees each year, you will find her enjoying time outdoors, baking, or listening to her favorite tunes.

Parents, family, and friends can only handle purchasing (and eating) so many chocolate bars, popcorn, or other edible goods when it comes to fundraising efforts of any youth sports team. If you feel like it is time to put more FUN in your fundraising, try one of these great ideas:​

Team Night Out. Is there a local restaurant in town that would partner with your team for a sports night? A set percentage of the profits from that night will go back to your team. The local restaurant benefits from the patrons who want to support your team while it is an easy opportunity for the team to gain funds. You could even have team players bus tables for extra tips and to mingle with their fans.

On April 7, 2018, crowds gathered at Columbia College, in Columbia, MO, for the Midwest Campus Clash. It may sound like any other collegiate sporting event, however, during the first annual event in 2017, more than 1,300 gaming fans passed through the doors to enjoy this gaming tournament and expo. The tournament was invitational with seven teams going head-to-head. Each match is won by the best of three games. Two rounds of semi-finals were held during the Saturday live event with the Championship that same evening.

You’ve all heard the phrase “be prepared for the unexpected.” It’s an often used phrase which can be confusing. After all, how can you prepare for something you don’t expect to happen? Believe it or not, a crisis communications plan can help you be prepared in the event of a crisis and there are easy steps you can take to create one. Throughout this process it’s important to remember, the court of public opinion moves at a rapid pace and social media promotes snap judgments.​

The first step you must do when creating a crisis communications plan is audit your event for vulnerabilities. Your crisis communications team should consist of your CEO, top Public Relations executive, legal counsel, and department heads. Bring your team together and ask yourselves, “Do we have a captive digital audience?”, “Do we have established channels to communicate to our audience?”, “Who’s responsibility is it to manage those channels?” Brainstorm any potential crises your event may run into. There are many different types of crises, such as natural, technological, confrontational, malevolent, organizational misdeeds, rumors, sudden, and more. It’s important to think outside the box in order to be the most prepared.

In Burlington, IA you will find what Ripley’s Believe It or Not® once claimed as the Crookedest Street in the World, Snake Alley. This road is 276-ft. long and has five switchbacks in a 60-ft. climb, averaging a grade of 12.5% in that block. In 1983, the Snake Alley Criterium was born, creating one of the most physically challenging races in the Midwest.​The Snake Alley Criterium is a twenty-block course, with differences in elevation from 555 ft. to 678 ft. The course is entirely on city streets, in downtown, with a one-block-long climb up the historic brick street of Snake Alley. Steve Frevert, Executive Director, Downtown Partners, Inc, has been involved with the Criterium since 2008.

“I believe in the beginning, there were fewer categories of racers; that has increased over time. As the event has grown in renown, we have regularly attracted cyclists from 20+ states and a number of other countries. The Criterium route has changed several times but always goes up Snake Alley. This year the route was changed again, so as not to cut off Burlington’s new police station, which would have been inside the previous closed course,” Frevert said.

​The world of youth sports tournaments continues to grow and change. Events of all kinds dot the Midwest providing teams from across the world fun, safe experiences and challenging competition. In most cases, it also takes an army of planners, volunteers, and parents to pull together some great community tournaments. For larger events, organizations like Midwest Sports Productions (MSP) take tournament production to another level.​Midwest Sports Productions specializes in youth tournament production and is the world’s largest fastpitch and baseball event company. Their top yearly events include team favorites such as the Hawaiian Hitfest, Monster Bash, and Cowtown Showdown with their largest event being the USSSA Midwest National Championships. To understand a bit about their planning methods, we spoke with Alexa DiSpirito, Director of Communications:

Conference centers across the Midwest are raising the bar when it comes to green initiatives and sustainable practices. “Convention centers play an influential role in the green building movement due to their size, the number of people they host every year, and the economic activity they help generate,” said Sheri Brezinka, U.S. Green Building Council® (USGBC) regional director. “Conference centers and meeting spaces are going green in large part because their clientele demands it. More and more event organizers require proof of sustainability practices and commitments in their venue search and requests for proposals. Sustainability is no longer a consideration, but rather an expectation in the market.”

During an engaged, line-networking conversation, while attending NYC Comic Con last fall, I met Justine Mastin, creator of YogaQuest. She was presenting her style of yoga to one of the largest geek communities and I was excited to learn all about it. YogaQuest is a yoga class which blends yoga poses with fan-fiction storytelling. Each quest is guided by a narrator and a certified yoga instructor, taking each class on an epic journey (yoga sequence) which will engage the mind and improve strength, balance, and flexibility.

I just experienced the best site visit to a hotel in all my 26 years in this industry. There were so many elements that combined to make it an experience I’ll never forget.

I was fortunate to have a speaking engagement to a group of incentive planners who were touring Buenos Aires, Argentina. The fortunate part was that I got to tag along on all their adventures! But I digress…

When we arrived at the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires, we were greeted by about 20 staff people who formed a path into the hotel and clapped like we were celebrities. That perked us all up after a long flight! We were escorted into their bar, where 20 assorted cocktails awaited us, all pre-made and beautiful. The mixologist greeted us and explained what was in them.

Next, we walked with our cocktails into the restaurant, where servers distributed empanadas while the chef greeted us and spoke casually about his journey to becoming a top chef in South America, with his restaurant voted among the best on the continent.